Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-01-30
this snit OF rooms are bed.rooms with

this suit OF rooms are bedrooms, with
irron-barred windows. Each apartment
is heated by steam and plainly furnished.
There are no carpets on the floors.
The window-curtains and the clothing
on the iron bedsteads are ms white as
snow, and the brass knobs mr1nonnting
the foot and hoad-boar1s az polished
until they shine like gold. White-cap-
ped nurses fit through the corridors
like ghosts, and occasionally appalling
cries are heard from darkened rooms
at the east end of the edifice Conva-
loscents are to be seen in the parlors
below. Nearly all are men of dlgnifed
appearance many are gray-haired, and
all are well dressed. Most of them
wear dressing-gowns and slippers. Ali
are well educated, and converse with
readiness on the most interesting topics
of the day. You will find among them
well-known hotel proprietor, several
brokers and real estate dealers. one or
two journalists, few lawyers Of inferior
intellects, including one of unrivalled
brilliancy as an advocate, half a dozen
politicians, anda Congregational clergy
man unstained with heterOdOxy. They
ere remarkable group. All seem to
have gone through the furnace of in
tense suffering. Their bps are dry, and
are frequently moistened by the action
of the tongue The: faces are bleached
and blanchcd. Subdued nervousness
E is apparent in their eyes and in their
,,,o,,,,,r o,1 I,oo,-,uo, TTl,o,- ov.o ac,,rtl,
and polite in intercourse, but il is the
courtliness and politeness of party of
French mobiles who cannot shake off
memories of the Reign OF Terror. On
the surface all is suavity and
amenity, but beneath it there
is a strong undertow of reserve. They
smile at each jcU dc mot and each jeu
d'csprit, but they rarely laugh outright,
and they never slap each other on the
knee in the intensity Of their enjoy
mcnt. At times yOusee them furtively
watching each other as though lost in
the depths of mental speculation. Anon
they herd together like sheep in a panic.
Some notwithstanding or writing with |
spasmodic energy, and others play bill
lizards. A very few are trying to work
out abstruse problems at chess. All |
appear to be men Of wealth, aimlessly
busy and nervous rs TO their future.
Care is written on their features, and
each man seems TO be cankered at the
heart.
You may fancy this institution either
a lnnatic asylum or a home for inebri-
ates. 1t is nothing Of the kind. 1t is
simply ward in the best hospital in
New York city, devoted to the cure Of
men who are suffering from dciirium
Fcmcas and in mdnia n pOiu. They
pay $40 a week entrance fee and $50 a
week when convalescing They receive
the best of care and medical treatment.
Like old hulks and reclaimed wrecks
they are thoroughly fumigated. calked
anew, repainted and refitted, and again
madeready for the seaof life, Many are
thrown on their beam ends in the first gale
that follows, and are promptly return
edtO this dock-yard Of humanity. Others
are swamped outright in typhoons OF
dissipation, and never again sec the re-
fitting station. Itsphysicians andnurses,
however, are ever busy. day and night,
strengthening frail crafts, bracing them
1t weak points, and readjustmg their
conn asses. The best ships are the ones
who need the most frequent repairing,
and the fastest vessels are those who 90
20 the bottom the quickest. So says
the supcrintcndento OF the yard.